


Open A Book and Dare To Dream

by flipflop_diva



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Canon Compliant, Gen, Missing Scene, Newspapers, Pre-Deathly Hallows, Wizarding Books, Wizarding Library System, Worldbuilding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-23
Updated: 2018-03-23
Packaged: 2019-04-04 20:43:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,744
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14028351
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flipflop_diva/pseuds/flipflop_diva
Summary: It was time for Hermione to do her part to help in the upcoming fight against Lord Voldemort. And this battle was going to start where all battles should — at the greatest Wizarding library in the world.





	Open A Book and Dare To Dream

**Author's Note:**

  * For [beebeeate](https://archiveofourown.org/users/beebeeate/gifts).



> Written for beebeeate as part of the Worldbuilding Exchange Fest 2018.
> 
> I have never really written a worldbuilding fic before, so this was a challenge, but also it was so much fun to imagine what Wizarding libraries must be like. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

Hermione’d had it planned for ages, weeks before they had even left Hogwarts. No one knew except for Ron. Not even Harry. It would be too dangerous otherwise.

She was going home to spend a week with her parents to try and convince them to leave the country before things with Voldemort got even worse. That was the official story, at least. Unofficially, she was going home for one last day with her parents before using the memory modification spell on them. They were going to forget her, forget their life. It was the only way to keep them safe.

But before she did any of that, she was going to spend a week scoping out the finest institution in the United Kingdom — the wizarding library system.

It only made sense. They would need as much information as they could possibly get their hands on if they wanted to have any chance at all of defeating Voldemort. And there was only so much they could find in the Hogwarts library.

Hermione had spent almost more time in that place than she had in any other place throughout her six years of Hogwarts. Between her, Ron and Harry and all the troubles they had faced over the years, they must have looked at every book in there. Most of those books she had read cover to cover. She had researched even more, memorizing facts and spells and curses.

But now, they needed more help that the Hogwarts library could give them. They needed information about Voldemort himself. About his past and where he came from and what he valued. Anything that could at all be a clue to where the Horcruxes were. And they needed even more information about dealing with the Horcruxes themselves. How to guard against them. How to destroy them. How to make sure they were destroyed.

She had talked to Madam Pince one afternoon about a month before school let out for the year, told her she was going on a trip during the summer and wanted to see the best library the Wizarding world had to offer. Madam Pince had told her where to go and even given her a list of hidden items inside the library that weren’t exactly public knowledge, information that was now tucked into her small beaded bag that was pressed against her side. 

It turned out that all United Kingdom wizarding libraries were connected by a magical system, which made sense after all. One only had to find the correct room in each library and from there could access any book in any library in the system. 

Of course, there was one room in each library that was going to take a bit more work to access, but Hermione had the solution to that, too. Also in her small beaded bag, which she had magicked to expand to hold as much as she needed, was an invisibility cloak she had borrowed from Mad-Eye Moody. It wasn’t as good as Harry’s, but Mad-Eye had promised her it would do the job. He had also taught her to turn herself invisible with the flick of a wand, but as she was not completely competent with that yet, she felt safer having the cloak. 

In Wizarding libraries, Madam Pince had told her, you had to be finished with your schooling and of proper age to access the dark magic section, and she was still a year away from that. But it was in there that she had the best chance of finding the information they were looking for, so she needed to be able to sneak in. And to stay there overnight while she searched for the information that would help them out.

She arrived in London on a Tuesday morning, ready for her trip to the greatest library in the world, according to Madam Pince — twenty-five stories, each floor filled with a different type of book. Her dream location had this not been such an urgent matter. She would have loved to explore every level of this library, learn thoroughly about every book in its entirety.

The library itself was magnificent. Located just four blocks south of The Leaky Cauldron and accessed by entering a rundown store that promised to sell high-top sneakers that had long gone out of style, the library was entered through the last stall on the left of the sole bathroom. 

It took Hermione’s breath away when she tapped out the code Madam Pince had shared with her and pushed at the wall, stepping through the opening out on to a grand golden staircase that led up to the library’s main entrance.

It really was the most beautiful building she had ever seen in her life, gleaming white marble that seemed to be decorated with small brilliant crystals and a door that was literally shaped like an open book.

She walked slowly up the stairs, her eyes roaming over and over the building. There were huge windows that must run floor to ceiling located on each level. Through some, she could see people curled up, like they were cushioned in giant floating window seats. Other windows were attached to balconies with chairs outside. Far above her, she could see wizards and witches sipping on tea and reading books in the cool summer breeze.

She almost felt like she had come home.

Hermione finally reached the top of the golden staircase and stepped off on to the main entrance. Walking through the doors, she could hear a soft rustling, like the doors themselves were turning page after page of a book.

As she crossed underneath the doorframe, she felt her breath catch in her throat. She stared around in amazement. From where she stood in what was obviously the main rotunda, she could look up to see all twenty-four other floors. Towering shelves of books filled her vision, from floor to ceiling of every floor, running in a giant circle along every inch of wall space.

The staircase to reach the upper floors was golden, just like the staircase to access the library, but this one was moving, much like a Muggle escalator, circling around and around in tight curves. The staircase itself was beautiful, every inch of it decorated with illustrations that came from everything from children’s books to textbooks to adult romance novels, all of the illustrations moving and waving and trying to get visitors to get off at their particular floor.

Hermione stepped on to the moving staircase. The books she most wanted — the dark magic ones — were on the twenty-fifth floor but she would be more than content with the other twenty-fourth floors until nightfall came and the library closed. 

Madam Pince had explained to her how the library was set up, with the floors rising in age order. The first few floors were for children. Picture books and basic spelling books. The type of books Muggle children would study in primary school. But of course these books were not ordinary. Instead of just words on a page, the books themselves talked to the children, giving them their lessons as they went through each page.

Past the children’s books were books for teenagers. Fiction and non-fiction and more books filled with the things Wizarding children should all learn before they went off to school. About how their world worked. How to spell. How to count money.

The whole thing was amazing. There was a floor for self-help books, a floor for romance novels, a floor for mystery novels — those Hermione would have loved to see if she weren’t so pressed for time. Unlike Muggles mystery novels, which were all spelled out, the witch or wizard reading the book actually had to try and put together the clues for the next chapter to be revealed. 

On the twenty-third floor were newspapers and magazines from around the world. By taking the one you were interested in with you into a little cubicle of sorts, the paper would instantly be translated to the language of your choice, allowing it to be read by anyone. Hermione knew she would be spending a lot of time on that floor. She was going to have to search in newspapers around the world to see if there were any signs of what Tom Riddle had been up that had not been captured by the Daily Prophet or other local outlets.

However, the newspapers would have to wait. Instead, Hermione stepped off, after the most amazing staircase ride of her life, at the twenty-fourth floor. The horror section. Fiction and non-fiction. Including beginner level books on how to overcome the dark arts that were suitable for all ages. It was just the place to start.

She looked around. It had been hard to see when she was on the staircase, but between every bookcase was a small gap, and through the gap she could see an even bigger cavernous area whose walls were also filled with books. In the middle were rows and rows of little tables and chairs, intermixed with bean bags and hammocks and even a couple beds, if you enjoyed your reading lying down. 

Hermione found herself a table toward the far back corner, away from the few other people who were up on this floor, and took out some paper and quills. She was going to be here awhile, she knew, so she needed to make sure she had everything she needed. 

She looked around, her eyes already tracing over the rows and rows of books. A few feet away she could see a librarian, wearing a golden robe that matched the staircases, her black hair pulled back in a bun. She was going to have to ask the librarian for help if she even had a chance of finding what she was looking for.

Hermione sighed happily. It was almost like looking for a needle in a haystack, she knew. And if she didn’t find anything that could help, she and Ron and Harry could be in serious trouble later. She only had a week — and millions upon millions of books and newspapers to look through.

It was a very serious situation, fraught with nerves and anxiety, but as Hermione sat there, in the middle of the London Wizarding library, she felt herself start to smile.

Yes, it was serious, but she hadn’t felt this happy in a long, long time. This was her place. She just had never known it until now.


End file.
